Preparing for Your Infant's First Portraits

Most parents wait to have their baby photographed around 4-6 weeks of age. This gives the infant's head time to shapen, and for any bruising from the use of forceps during delivery to go away. Also, some infants have rashy, dry skin that will clear up in the first few weeks.

Your infant as an individual
Since your first portrait session will be when your baby is 4-6 weeks old, don't be surprised if several of your individual portraits are of the baby sleeping, yawning and curled in the fetal position. That is what they do best at this age!

It's also a great age to document their tiny fingers and toes with close-ups of the individual body parts. Having several close-ups of individual areas lends itself to making a fun collage style portrait of your baby.

Minor props can add some interest to your infants first portraits. An embroidered blanket, a single long stem rose or daisy, oversized gift tags reading "Gift from God" or a pile of soft towels with a rubber duckie & wash tub can all make for cute portraits. But, don't get too carried away with the props and forget to focus on the baby!

Your infant as a new family member
Since your infant is a new member of the family, it's a good idea to do some family poses. Traditional full family shots are fine, but at this age, the creative images seem more compelling. One of my favorite poses is having the parent's hands cradle the newborn, showing the sizes of the adult hands against the tiny new baby. This close-up portrait is a fun use of scale to show how small your baby really is, and shows a family connection (especially if parents are wearing wedding bands) while giving your baby some posture.

Pictures of mother and child can be very compelling also. Mom's delicate hands caressing the tiny infant's hands or feet are adorable. An emotional pose that you can ask for is having the infant sleep on the mothers chest, nuzzling at her neck. The close bond of mother and child is always a touching moment that should be documented.

Fun poses with dad include a close-up of the infant grabbing one of dad's big fingers. Or ask your photographer to do one of dad's large foot with the infants tiny foot sitting on top. The scale between the two is always dramatic.

Preparing your infant
To prepare for these sessions, be sure to give your baby a bath and bring extra wipes for a last minute nose cleaning. Keep a small towel handy for any burps and the inevitable tears. A touch of Vaseline should also be on hand to moisten dry lips.

If your infant has a significant amount of hair, a moist towel can be used to smooth the hair into place. Never make your infant wear an elastic headband. If it shifts or isn't worn throughout the entire session, you will see markings on the infant's head. If you must decorate their hair, use tiny clips or tie-in bows.

Be sure to pick clothes that fits your baby without sagging around the diaper or squeezing the baby too snug around the neck or tummy. Dressing the baby in plain onesies or a diaper cover are the best option. Adult type outfits of shirts and pants aren't appropriate at this age. Be sure to take a bib and a few changes of clothes with you to your session just incase your little one gets messy.

Also remember that your baby may not be themselves under bright studio lights. With most infant sessions, your window of opportunity for great moments happens in the first 10-15 minutes. After that they get nervous about the lights, being away from their parents and aren't sure of what to do with all the attention. Just remember to give you infant lots of cuddles and reassurance throughout the process and you're bound to have a memorable portrait experience!